scholarly journals High Wilms’ tumor 1 mRNA expression correlates with basal-like and ERBB2 molecular subtypes and poor prognosis of breast cancer

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1231-1236 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIAO-WEI QI ◽  
FAN ZHANG ◽  
XIN-HUA YANG ◽  
LIN-JUN FAN ◽  
YI ZHANG ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayana Morales ◽  
Caitlyn Genovese ◽  
Matthew Bott ◽  
Julio Alvarez ◽  
Sung Soo Mun ◽  
...  

AbstractPurposeWilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) is overexpressed in several cancers, and WT1 expression levels are associated with poor prognosis. As a host protein that functions as an oncogene, it represents an important immunotherapeutic target. This study evaluated WT1 expression in Kaposi sarcoma (KS) tumors to assess whether immunotherapy targeting WT1 is a potential therapeutic approach for KS. We also investigated the role of the causal agent of KS, Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8) in regulating WT1 expression.Experimental designImmunohistochemistry for WT1, KSHV, and B and T cells subsets, followed by image analysis, was performed in 363 KS tumor biopsies. Expression of KSHV vFLIP was evaluated by immunofluorescence. Primary endothelial cell cultures and cell lines were infected with KSHV in vitro, or transduced with an inducible vFLIP vector and induced with doxycycline, and then assessed for WT1 expression. Binding of ESK-1, a T cell receptor mimic therapeutic antibody that recognizes WT1 peptides presented on MHC HLA-A0201, was assessed using flow cytometry.ResultsWe report overexpression of WT1 in KS tumors, which was associated with increased with increasing histopathologic stage and the proportion of KSHV-infected cells. Areas with high WT1 expression showed sparse T cell infiltrates. KSHV infection in vitro resulted in WT1 upregulation, mediated by the viral protein vFLIP, which resulted in stronger binding of ESK1.ConclusionsKS lesions express high levels of WT1, a process regulated by the KSHV-encoded vFLIP. These findings suggest that immunotherapy directed against WT1 may represent a therapeutic approach for this cancer.Translational RelevanceKaposi sarcoma (KS) is a vascular neoplasm caused by the Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV-8). People living with HIV are not only at a significantly higher risk of developing KS, but also often have a more aggressive clinical course. Although antiretroviral therapy may cause regression of HIV-associated KS lesions, advanced cases of KS also require chemotherapy, which is rarely curative. Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) has been reported to be overexpressed in various cancers, functioning as an oncogene and associated with a poor prognosis. WT1 is also an important immunotherapeutic target, with several WT1-directed therapies showing promising results in early clinical trials for leukemias and solid tumors. Here we report high expression of WT1 in KS, especially in higher histological stages. Our findings provide pre-clinical evidence that supports conducting anti-WT1 immunotherapy trials in KS, and evaluating WT1 expression as a potential biomarker to identify individuals most likely to benefit.


2016 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joji Nagasaki ◽  
Yasutaka Aoyama ◽  
Masayuki Hino ◽  
Kentaro Ido ◽  
Hiroyoshi Ichihara ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: A high expression of Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) mRNA occurs in most cases of acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Although there are many reports suggesting that acute myeloid leukemia patients with high expression levels of WT1 mRNA have a relatively poor long-term survival, there are few reports addressing the relationship between WT1 levels and prognosis in MDS. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 42 elderly patients with MDS whose WT1 levels at diagnosis were available, and we assessed the relationships between WT1 levels in peripheral blood and preexisting prognostic factors such as World Health Organization prognostic scores and Revised International Prognostic Scoring System risk categories, bone marrow blast percentages, and chromosomal abnormalities linked to a poor prognosis. We also evaluated the relationship between WT1 levels and prognosis. Results:WT1 levels were significantly different between high- and low-risk MDS patients (p < 0.05). There was a trend towards a significant difference between those with and those without poor prognostic chromosomal rearrangements (p = 0.051). Moreover, the overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly worse in elderly patients with higher levels of WT1 (p = 0.00039 and p = 0.00077, respectively). Conclusions: The WT1 mRNA expression level at diagnosis may be a significant independent prognostic marker for elderly patients with MDS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumiko Kobayashi ◽  
Yasunori Ueda ◽  
Yasuhito Nannya ◽  
Hirohiko Shibayama ◽  
Hideto Tamura ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 2516-2516
Author(s):  
Sandra Heesch ◽  
Nicola Goekbuget ◽  
Jutta Ortiz Tanchez ◽  
Cornelia Schlee ◽  
Stefan Schwartz ◽  
...  

Abstract The wilms tumor 1 gene (WT1) encodes a transcriptional regulator involved in normal hematopoietic development. The role of WT1 in acute leukemia has been underscored by the finding of WT1 overexpression in subsets of patients (pts) associated with an increased relapse risk. In addition mutations of WT1 have been found in about 10–15% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pts and have recently shown to predict inferior survival. Thus far, larger studies have not yet determined the frequency and impact of WT1 mutations in acute T-lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Herein, we have analyzed WT1 mutations and WT1 mRNA expression levels in a large cohort of T-ALL including 239 newly diagnosed adult pts treated on the GMALL protocols 0699 and 0703. Diagnostic bone marrow specimens were studied for WT1 mutations by DNA sequencing. In addition, samples were immunophenotyped, and mRNA expression of the molecular markers HOX11, HOX11L2, ERG, BAALC, as well as WT1 were determined by real-time RT-PCR. Twenty (8%) of the 239 analyzed T-ALL pts had WT1 mutations (WT1mut) [20 pts had mutations in exon 7 (WT1mut7), with 2 pts having coexisting mutations in exon 9 (WT1mut9)]. WT1mut7 were frameshift or nonsense mutations predicted to result in a truncated WT1 protein, whereas WT1mut9 were missense mutations leading to single amino-acid substitutions. WT1mut and WT1 wildtype (WTwt) pts did not significantly differ with respect to clinical parameters at diagnosis (e. g. age, leukocyte count, and sex). WT1mut cases were characterized by immature features such as an early immunophenotype (45% of WT1mut showed an early T-ALL immunophenotype as compared to only 25% of WT1wt), and WT1mut also showed higher levels of CD34 expression as determined by flow cytometry (WT1mut median: 46% vs. WT1wt median: 2 %; P=0.03). Moreover, WT1mut had significantly higher WT1 mRNA expression levels [WT1mut median: 0.05 (range: 0–0.395) vs. WT1wt median: 0 (range: 0–0.15); P&lt;0.001]. Significant differences were not observed in the complete remission rate nor overall survival or relapse free-survival (RFS) between WT1mut and WT1wt pts. However, in the standard risk group of thymic T-ALL 80% (4/5) of WT1mut relapsed as compared to 28% (25/89) of WT1wt thymic pts [P=0.01; RFS at 18 months: 20% (SE: ±18) for thymic WT1mut vs. 82% (SE: ±4) for thymic WT1wt pts; P=0.008]. In conclusion, in adult T-ALL WT1 mutations are present in 8% of newly diagnosed pts and are located in the same region as reported in AML expected to impair the DNA binding ability of the WT1 protein. Similar to findings in AML, WT1mut cases are characterized by immature features pinpointing to a genetic hit in hematopoietic progenitors likely harboring bilineage potential. The prognostic implications of WT1 mutations in standard risk thymic T-ALL will have to be further validated in independent studies and may in future direct molecularly-based treatment stratification.


Breast Cancer ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunsen Xu ◽  
Mutsuko Yamamoto-Ibusuki ◽  
Yutaka Yamamoto ◽  
Satoko Yamamoto ◽  
Saori Fujiwara ◽  
...  

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11377
Author(s):  
Chongyang Ren ◽  
Xiaojiang Tang ◽  
Haitao Lan

Background Breast cancer (BC), one of the most widespread cancers worldwide, caused the deaths of more than 600,000 women in 2018, accounting for about 15% of all cancer-associated deaths in women that year. In this study, we aimed to discover potential prognostic biomarkers and explore their molecular mechanisms in different BC subtypes using DNA methylation and RNA-seq. Methods We downloaded the DNA methylation datasets and the RNA expression profiles of primary tissues of the four BC molecular subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, basal-like, and HER2-enriched), as well as the survival information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The highly expressed and hypermethylated genes across all the four subtypes were screened. We examined the methylation sites and the downstream co-expressed genes of the selected genes and validated their prognostic value using a different dataset (GSE20685). For selected transcription factors, the downstream genes were predicted based on the Gene Transcription Regulation Database (GTRD). The tumor microenvironment was also evaluated based on the TCGA dataset. Results We found that Wilms tumor gene 1 (WT1), a transcription factor, was highly expressed and hypermethylated in all the four BC subtypes. All the WT1 methylation sites exhibited hypermethylation. The methylation levels of the TSS200 and 1stExon regions were negatively correlated with WT1 expression in two BC subtypes, while that of the gene body region was positively associated with WT1 expression in three BC subtypes. Patients with low WT1 expression had better overall survival (OS). Five genes including COL11A1, GFAP, FGF5, CD300LG, and IGFL2 were predicted as the downstream genes of WT1. Those five genes were dysregulated in the four BC subtypes. Patients with a favorable 6-gene signature (low expression of WT1 and its five predicted downstream genes) exhibited better OS than that with an unfavorable 6-gene signature. We also found a correlation between WT1 and tamoxifen using STITCH. Higher infiltration rates of CD8 T cells, plasma cells, and monocytes were found in the lower quartile WT1 group and the favorable 6-gene signature group. In conclusion, we demonstrated that WT1 is hypermethylated and up-regulated in the four BC molecular subtypes and a 6-gene signature may predict BC prognosis.


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